Bionic Hand wins engineering award

Posted on 11 Jun 2008 at 14:59

A team that developed the first commercially available bionic hand has been rewarded with the 2008 Royal Academy of Engineering MacRobert Award; a coveted award for innovation in engineering.

The i-Limb Hand - developed by Scottish company Touch Bionics - is a prosthetic device with five individually powered digits. Launched in 2007 - with over 20 years of research and development behind it - the i-Limb Hand looks and acts like a real human hand and represents a generational advance in bionics and patient care. More than 250 patients worldwide have been fitted with the prosthetic and the team is now looking to expand globally.

"We are over the moon to have won the 2008 MacRobert Award, which is a huge honour for any engineering-oriented company," said CEO Stuart Mead. "To be selected ahead of three other excellent innovations is a real testament to the tremendous level of hard work and incredible engineering skill that has gone into the development of the i-Limb Hand."

The key innovation behind the success of the i-LIMB Hand is the multi-articulating finger technology. It has been developed using leading-edge electronic and mechanical engineering techniques and is manufactured using high-strength plastics. The result is a prosthetic device that is lightweight, robust and appealing to both patients and healthcare professionals.

Author: Dawinderpal Sahota

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